Kevin Costner plays a character in the film ‘Field Of Dreams’ who hears a voice when walking through his corn field, the voice says "If you build it, he will come". Later he sees a vision of a baseball field. He builds the field and Shoeless Joe Jackson, a long dead professional baseball player, turns up and asks to play catch. The quote has been adapted into a business setting and often means, if you build something people will come to use (and pay for) it. This is most definitely the case for Chamonix who’s fame and fortune has been built on the lure of Mont Blanc. Much like Zermatt, who’s calling card the Mighty Matterhorn has ensured it’s continuing success and fame, so it is with Chamonix and Mont Blanc. Obviously no one can take credit for building a mountain but they sure can benefit from its proximity and Chamonix has cashed in, Mont Blanc is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.
Chamonix Mont Blanc has been at the forefront of Alpine adventure since 1760, when a local scientist offered a prize for the first ascent of the highest Alp. The prize was claimed in 1786 by Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmatt. It had its first growth spurt in the Victorian era and then the holding of the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924 further raised Chamonix's profile as an international tourist destination. By the 1960s, agriculture had been reduced to a marginal activity, while the number of tourist beds available rose to around 60,000 by the end of the 20th century, with about 5 million visitors a year.
Proximity to Geneva, the airport is only an hour’s drive away, and its all-round, year-round active lifestyle appeal has made Chamonix a popular place to settle and set up shop, creating a uniquely cosmopolitan, colourful and dynamic entrepreneurial scene. There are legions of photographers, independent guides and instructors, taxi drivers, caterers, chalet girl placement agencies, magazine publishers and publicans, baby sitters, crèche operators and property agencies.
A tranquil Alpine retreat it may not be, but Chamonix’s setting beneath the cliffs and tumbling glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif is a wonderful location and the bustling town doesn't lack charm. Its old buildings have kept their sedate Victorian and Belle Epoque look and now that the centre is traffic-free, it offers pleasant strolling, with cafés overhanging the river Arve’s torrent and a wealth of interesting shops, galleries, bookshops and speciality food, as well as souvenirs and the latest technical snow-sports clothing and hardware. At the centre of it all stands the statue of the first man up Mont Blanc, Jacques Balmatt showing Ferdinand de Saussure, the father of Semiology, the way up. The Alpine museum is worth visiting and often has good temporary exhibitions. There's also an open air market at Chamonix every Saturday morning, at Argentière on Sundays and at Les Houches on Mondays.
Chamonix has one of the highest cable cars in the world, which links the town to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3842 m. It is based on an older system built in 1920, rebuilt in the first half of the 1950s over five summer seasons, fully modernized in 1979, and upgraded again in 2008. On the other side of the valley, another cable car links Chamonix to the viewpoint of Planpraz. A second line links Planpraz to the summit of Le Brévent at 2525 m. Many other cable cars exist in the valley, and are heavily used by skiers and residents.
Chamonix is one of the oldest ski resorts in France and is known as the "gateway to the European Cascades." The north side of the summit of Mont Blanc, and therefore the summit itself are part of the village of Chamonix. To the south side, the situation is different depending on the country. Italy considers that the border passes through the top. France considers that the boundary runs along the rocky Tournette under the summit cap, placing it entirely in French territory. The argument persists to this day. What France and Italy do agree on however is the importance of Europe’s highest peak to the wealth of the area. I’ll leave the last word to Shelley.
“The secret strength of things
Which governs thought, and to the infinite dome
Of Heaven is as a column, rests on thee,
And what were thou and Earth and Stars and Sea
If to the human mind's imaginings
Silence and solitude were Vacancy?”
? Percy Bysshe Shelley.